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Product Manager's Guidebook
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  • Guidebook
    • Welcome
    • Contribute
    • Donate
  • Prelude
    • A Note From The Author
    • How To Use This Guide
  • Introduction
    • Overview
    • What is a Product Manager?
      • Roles and Responsibilities of a Product Manager
      • The Product Mindset
      • Understanding the Product Management Lifecycle
      • Different Types of Product Managers
    • Product Team Structures
      • Stakeholders, Leadership, and the Company
      • Cross-Functional Product Team
      • Differences between Project, Program, and Product Management
  • People Skills
    • Overview
    • Communication
      • Knowing Your Audience
      • Elements of Persuasion and Motivation
      • The Art of Storytelling
      • Effective Meeting Management
      • Delivering Presentations and Demos
    • Building Relationships
      • Collaboration Cadence and Tools
      • Team Agreements and Purpose
      • Understanding Business Problems
      • Managing Expectations
      • Communicating Progress
    • Leadership
      • Cross-Functional Leadership
      • Applied Motivation and Getting Buy-In
      • Giving and Receiving Feedback
      • Aligning Product Mission, Vision, and Strategy
      • Sharing Impact and Outcomes
  • Process Skills
    • Overview
    • Strategy
      • Objective Setting
      • Prioritization
      • Roadmapping
    • Discovery
      • Problem Research and Definition
      • Customer Discovery and Research
      • Solution Design and Validation
    • Development
      • Writing and Using Product Requirements
      • Concepts through Designing
      • Working with Designers
      • Development Execution and Methodologies
      • Working with Engineers
      • Scoping and Writing User Stories
      • Technical Debt Management
    • Delivery
      • Roll-out and Release Management
      • Assessing Assumptions, Risk, and Issues
      • Measuring Product Launch Success
      • Marketing and Communications
      • User Activation
    • Optimization
      • Iterative Development and Learning
      • Streamlining Processes and Experiences
  • Knowledge Skills
    • Overview
    • Understanding the Customer
      • Customer Segmentation and Targeting
      • User Research Methods
      • Understanding Customer Pain Points
      • User Personas Development
      • User Behavior and Psychology
      • Acquiring and Retaining Customers
    • Data-Driven Decisions
      • The Role of Data in Product
      • Data Analysis and Interpretation
      • Identifying and Understanding Assumptions
      • Formulating Your Hypotheses
      • Selecting a Hypothesis for Testing
      • Navigating Signal Metrics to Define KPIs for Hypothesis Testing
      • Testing Your Hypothesis
      • Upholding Data Privacy and Ethics
    • Domain Knowledge
      • Competitive Analysis and Industry
      • Achieving Product-Market Fit
      • Technology and Innovation
      • Aligning with the Company
    • Business Understanding
      • Organizational Values, Objectives, and Priorities
      • Long-Term Planning
      • Business Model Fit
      • Monetization Strategy
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On this page
  • Example
  • Pain Points
  • Practical Exercise
  • Related Research Topics
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  1. Introduction
  2. Product Team Structures

Differences between Project, Program, and Product Management

Product, project, and program management are three distinct disciplines, each with its unique focus and responsibilities. While they all involve guiding a team toward a goal, their approaches and outcomes differ. Understanding these differences is crucial for effective collaboration, ensuring each role's unique contributions are leveraged effectively. It’s important to note that a Product Owner is another name for a Project Manager, but some companies use it as a title for Product Managers.

Example

At a large and diverse tech company like Oracle, the roles might be divided as follows:

Product managers develop new features and products, focusing on delivering a product that provides value to customers and meets business goals.

Project managers might handle the implementation of this software for a specific client, focusing on executing a specific project within a given timeframe and budget.

Program managers might oversee several such implementations, coordinating related projects to achieve a larger business objective, such as expanding to a new region.

Pain Points

Role confusion can be a significant challenge when understanding product, project, and program management differences. It's also important to align objectives across these roles, as misalignment can lead to inefficiencies and conflicts.

Practical Exercise

Research the roles of project, program, and Product Managers in tech companies. How do they differ from each other? How do their responsibilities align and diverge?

Related Research Topics

  • Compare Projects and Programs [ Google | Perplexity ]

  • Role and responsibilities of Program Managers [ Google | Perplexity ]

  • Role and responsibilities of Project Management [ Google | Perplexity ]

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Last updated 2 months ago